Your Chance to Live: An Instructor's Guide
1973 · 27m · Documentary
The Defense Civil Preparedness Agency began an informational campaign in 1972 called Your Chance to Live. As part of the campaign, a series of films was released along with a companion book. Each installment covers a different disaster scenario, including tornadoes, blizzards, earthquakes, forest fires, blackouts and a nuclear disaster. The California Department of Education helped produce the films and hosted a workshop of educational professionals to discuss the best ways to present the desired emergency preparedness information to school age audiences. The process was filmed and assembled, along with clips from each production, and distributed as an Instructor's Guide in 1975.
More Like This

Accidental Climber
2019 · ★ 5
Jim Geiger, a retired forest ranger and amateur mountaineer, attempts to become the oldest American and first great grandfather to summit Mt. Everest, aged 68. His transformation from a weekend hiker to attempting one of the most extreme and physically demanding feats known to man is driven by a desire to prove that age is just a number. What ensued, however, forever changed Jim's life.
More info →
Cooked: Survival by Zip Code
2019 · ★ 7.5
Filmmaker Judith Helfand's searing investigation into the politics of “disaster” – by way of the deadly 1995 Chicago heat wave, in which 739 residents perished (mostly Black and living in the city’s poorest neighborhoods).
More info →The Blizzard of '49
2015
This one-hour documentary film tells the story of "Storm of the Century: The Blizzard of '49" - the worst series of storms in Wyoming's history. But for all the tragedy and loss, suffering and death, there was also hope and heroism, unselfish sacrifice and generosity. The blizzard brought out the best in people. Wyoming citizens from all walks of life cooperated together and demonstrated exceptional ingenuity in the face of dire circumstances. There were extraordinary acts of kindness, with people generously giving their time and resources. The public worked together to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles and ultimately won in the end.
More info →
Ambush - Tool of Terror
1976
Discusses strategies for police officers to anticipate and respond to ambush situations. It highlights the importance of planning, training, and teamwork in counter-ambush tactics. The text emphasizes the need for officers to remain vigilant, vary their routines, and utilize effective communication to minimize risks during potential threats.
More info →
Fire Front
2022 · ★ 10
Leading Australian documentarian Eddie Martin puts viewers on the frontlines of the deadly 2019–2020 bushfires, capturing the catastrophe with a perspective and scale never before seen. 24 million hectares were burnt, 3000 homes were destroyed, 33 people died, and nearly three billion animals perished or were displaced. Fire Front is a powerful account of that calamitous antipodean summer, told from the ground where climate change took on the face of hell.
More info →Cults: Saying No Under Pressure
1991 · ★ 8
Describes how to resist the deception and pressure used to recruit members into cults and keep them there. It also provides advice on how to resist these tactics. The video is designed for young people, parents, educators, counselors, clergy, law enforcement officials, and others.
More info →Blood and Water
2007
When the 2004 tsunami hit the coast of Sri Lanka, 65-year-old Anton Ambrose's wife and daughter were killed. "In five minutes," he says, "I lost everything." A year later, Anton returns to Sri Lanka. With him is his nephew, award-winning filmmaker Rohan Fernando. A Tamil, Anton moved to California in the 1970s and became a very successful gynecologist. His daughter, Orlantha, made the opposite journey, returning to Sri Lanka where she ran a non-profit group that gave underprivileged children free violin lessons. Blood and Water is the story of one man's search for meaning in the face of overwhelming loss, but it is also filled with improbable characters, unintentional comedy and situational ironies.
More info →
The 11th Hour
2007 · ★ 6.7
A look at the state of the global environment including visionary and practical solutions for restoring the planet's ecosystems. Featuring ongoing dialogues of experts from all over the world, including former Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev, renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, former head of the CIA R. James Woolse
More info →
The Great Famine
2011
When a devastating famine descended on Soviet Russia in 1921, it was the worst natural disaster in Europe since the Black Plague in the Middle Ages. Examine Herbert Hoover’s American Relief Administration—an operation hailed for its efficiency, grit and generosity. By the summer of 1922, American kitchens were feeding nearly 11 million Soviet citizens a day.
More info →
The Girl and The Tsunami
2021 · ★ 4
February 2010. On a remote island in the Pacific Ocean called Juan Fernández, everyone slept in town. But a 12-year-old girl felt a tremor and warned of imminent danger.
More info →
The Great San Francisco Earthquake
1988
An account of the devastating 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the subsequent effort to rebuild.
More info →
Shake Hands with Danger
1980 · ★ 5.2
This short cautionary training film examines dangers associated with earthmoving equipment operation, showing many simulated accidents on construction sites.
More info →